An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest.
"Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Thursday Thirteen Number 8: After a long hiatus, thirteen authors for whom I am thankful

Okay, so I started doing this thing a while back, and then they cancelled it for a while, so I was afraid I was the Kiss of Death to it. But here goes again......

Thirteen AUTHORS I LOVE

1. P.G. Wodehouse. He maketh my heart laugh as a hart pants for cooling streams. I want my own Jeeves to keep me from my own stupidity. This stuff is laugh-out-loud hilarious! Can lift the vilest mood.

2. Robert A. Heinlein. Even if he was sometimes a tad misogynistic, I still loved him. I think I have read everything he ever wrote. Of course, I'm like that.

3. J. K. Rowling. Please. I don't have to explain, do I?

4. Barbara Brown Taylor. Her sermons have helped me immensely. She is an Episcopal priest who is now a college professor. I wouldn't have made it through preaching class without her.

5. J. R. R. Tolkien. Unbelievable! Although the Silmarillion was not always so thrilling, I loved The Hobbit when I first read it at the age of nine.

6. C. S. Lewis. I am currently trying to get through all of his works. A Grief Observed helped me so much when my Dad died.

7. Eudora Welty. Another one who can make me laugh at any time. "Why I Live at the P.O." is just like my family, sadly.

8. John Steinbeck. Sweet Thursday and Cannery Row are enough. Then there's The Grapes of Wrath.

9. Harper Lee. Who cares if it's only one book? WHAT a book it was!

10. Angie Debo. She taught me so much about history and influenced me so much in my studies.

11. Thomas Merton. Not so fond of the Seven Storey Mountain-- he was a bit too strident there-- but his work in Contemplative Prayer and Life and Holiness were really useful. He died all too soon-- he was just getting to the really good stuff before his untimely end.

12. Jane Kenyon. Incredibly true poetry. It could have been otherwise.

13. Howard Nemerov. I once got to hear him speak at my husband's commencement. He was funny and erudite and joyful. Another great American poet.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Oh goodness, another fan of Wodehouse!!! I love his stuff!!! Never fails to make me giggle.

Another series that is similar (Brit humor and the upper crust) are the Flashman books. Hard to explain them, but they are a riot (although they tend to be a bit bawdy at times). The author is McDonald Fraser, if I remember correctly.

What's On the Bookshelf? (And stacked on the floor, and in the loo, and next to my bed, and in my backpack....)

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

The Stripping of the Altars, by Eamonn Duffy

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins

Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner

Random Thoughts

"Read-ity read read read."-- The Ramblin' Educat

"Personally, I think for democracy to exist, opposition is key. History seems to bear that out. One sign you're doing a good job is when the only argument the extablishment can muster is "shut up" and variations on that theme.-- NYC Educator

"The only thing worse than having no taste is having no shame."-- via Mamacita

"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is because you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery & Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."-- Molly Ivins (via Mike in Texas!)

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."-- Dean Wormer, Animal House

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."-- John Steinbeck